Mashable

Polish flying ace Jan Zumbach, left, of the 303 Kosciuszko Polish Fighter Squadron poses with his Supermarine Spitfire Mk.Vb EN951 RF-D. Zumbach was stationed with the RAF at this time, and the plane bears his distinctive Donald Duck symbol. With him are Wing Commander Stefan Witorzenc (center) and Flight Lieutenant Zygmunt Bienkowski (right).

Image: Fox Photos/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

When Germany and the Soviet Union invaded Poland at the outbreak of World War II, the Polish air force was quickly defeated. Many pilots escaped to France and Britain, eventually forming a force of over 8,000 airmen in Britain, which they called Wyspa Ostatniej Nadziei — "The Island of the Last Hope."

The British were initially unsure of the Polish airmen. Labeled inept by Nazi propaganda after their defeat, the Poles had to be trained to fly British planes and speak English well enough to communicate in combat. At one airfield the Polish pilots were instructed in British tactics by riding around on tricycles. Pilot Officer Jan Zumbach later wrote that “the British were wasting so much of our time with their childish exercises, when all of us had already won [our] wings."

But the fact that the British airmen were exhausted and the air force undermanned eventually overcame any reservations.

1940

A Polish pilot is interviewed by an intelligence officer after a sortie for reconnaissance information.

Image: Central Press/Getty Images

The Polish airmen quickly gained a reputation for being fearless to the point of recklessness.

Flying Officer Ludwik Paszkiewicz was on a training exercise when he spotted an enemy plane at his altitude. He veered off and engaged the plane, downing it. For this he earned both a reprimand for breaking formation and congratulations on the squadron's first victory.

The daring Polish pilots attained a sort of celebrity, praised in magazines and given free food and drink in restaurants. In late 1940, an American visitor wrote, "they always have a girl on each arm. They say the girls cannot resist the Poles, nor the Poles the girls."

April 27, 1940

A RAF Polish airman writes out notices in Polish.

Image: Fox Photos/Getty Images

Aug. 16, 1940

Two Polish pilots stationed with the RAF pose during the Battle of Britain.

Image: Central Press/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

October 1940

A group of pilots of the No. 303 Polish Fighter Squadron RAF stand by the tail elevator of one of their Hawker Hurricane Mark Is at an airfield in Middlesex.

Image: S A Devon/ IWM via Getty Images

October 1940

A group of pilots of the No. 303 Polish Fighter Squadron RAF after a fighter sortie.

Image: S A Devon/ IWM via Getty Images)

Nov. 4, 1940

A group of Polish Royal Air Force navigators are briefed before a mission.

Image: Maeers/Fox Photos/Getty Images

Dec. 20, 1940

A group of Polish pilots balance on the wing of a Wellington bomber to watch aircraft take off from a British RAF base.

Image: A. J. O'Brien/Fox Photos/Getty Images

Dec. 20, 1940

Polish airmen review a map in front of an Anson bomber during training at an RAF base.

Image: A. J. O'Brien/Fox Photos/Getty Images

Dec. 20, 1940

Polish airmen receive training at an RAF station.

Image: A. J. O'Brien/Fox Photos/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

1941

Three Polish fighter pilots who received decorations from the Polish premier in exile General Sikorski for their services to a Polish wing of the RAF.

Image: Keystone/Getty Images

1941

Polish airmen with dogs at an RAF base.

Image: Express/Getty Images

Nov. 17, 1943

Air Vice-Marshal H.W.L. Saunders decorates Wing-Commander Gabszeqicz with the Distinguished Service Order.

Image: Planet News Archive/SSPL/Getty Images

By the end of the war there were 15 Polish squadrons operating from Britain, with 19,400 men serving in the RAF and the Polish Air Force. In contributing to the defeat of the Nazis, they received heavy casualties, with 1,903 killed in action.

Polish airmen were eligible for medals from both the British government and the Polish government in exile. The Polish Virtuti Militari was equivalent to the British Distinguished Service Order and awarded 1,125 times. The Cross of Valor was awarded 3,122 times, sometimes to the same person more than once.

The British Distinguished Service Order (DSO) was awarded to four Polish pilots, the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) was awarded 57 times and the Distinguished Flying Medal 16 times. One Polish airman was awarded the Master of the British Empire (MBE) and another was made a Commander of the British Empire (CBE).

After the war many stayed in Britain. A few went back to Poland, but by the end of the war it was under Soviet control and they faced an uncertain future there.

April 7, 1943

American-born Poles who served with the RAF are transferred to the United States Army Air Force at a ceremony at the United States Army recruiting office in London.